It is a common practice when servicing a pressurized refrigeration system to remove and replace threaded valves without depressurizing the system by removing or losing the refrigerant gas. Environmental concerns have added greater emphasis on the efficiency of this process. The pressures typically encountered in such systems vary from 75 p.s.i. to 250 p.s.i. or higher. The valve cores and thread sizes etc. are standardized (although there are a variety of standards), making it possible to attach a standard tool to the valve fitting, through which the valve core can be passed, after which the passage through the tool is closed. A high quality sealing mechanism is crucial to maintain pressure when the core is removed, and the need to open an access way to the core complicates matters.
It is known that valve cores, such as the Schrader-type used in refrigeration systems are typically not subject to high quality control. Resulting in a significant number valve cores that are initially installed in refrigeration systems being incapable of maintaining the proper operating pressure to permit efficient operation of the refrigeration system. Additionally, refrigeration systems, while they arc intended to be closed (sealed) systems, are actually made from a number of other components, with various fittings and seals, subject to leakage. It is necessary to repair and recharge the refrigeration systems in an efficient way, such as through the removal of the core valve, thus providing access for refrigerant removal, system evacuation and recharge. The removal of the core valve, which is under high pressure, will tend to blow out the core valve, until the interior pressure of the tool is equalized.
Such needs, together with the substantial operating pressures make it necessary to provide a device of great precision as well as very sturdy construction. The tools typically used for this purpose have been of relatively complicated construction, making them prone to leak, and/or less dependable and thus expensive to manufacture than necessary.
Accordingly, there is a need for a tool for efficiently and safely removing valve elements from pressurized air conditioning systems.